it's all good in the hood

2½ years ago I sold my darling little house on Long Island where I'd lived for 14 years with my daughter and moved to Brooklyn. I know a lot of people don't understand that decision, as I'm still working out on the Island and now have a 40 mile (one way) commute five days a week. But I'm loving Brooklyn and like to think I've got the best of both worlds now! The suburbs by day, with big box stores and tons of fast food and parking lots (ahhhh)...and at night and on the weekends I enjoy the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn, with the interesting people and places. So yesterday I was in "the country," up north of the city, and today I was back in the hood. My life has a lot of variety, to say the least! 

I decided today to add another resolution to 2012. And it's a hard one for me. To do more things alone. I mean, I do most everything alone as it is...but there are things I *don't* do because I don't want to do them by myself. And I'm missing out on things I think I would enjoy. But you know how there are some things you just feel funny doing alone? Today I was craving a really yummy breakfast. OUT. I couldn't find anyone to go with me. I almost just went "oh well" and didn't go. But I MADE myself go out to eat alone. Ack. It felt a little weird. But I did it. It helps having a phone you can do stuff on. So you're not just like staring straight ahead the whole time, ha. I'll need to learn better "I'm here by myself, deal with it" skills. But for now, I'm just happy I took this step. And I'll keep trying to push myself to not pass things up just because I can't get anyone to go with me. 

Is there anything you feel funny doing alone? Do you go anyway? 

Looking back...and looking ahead...

Those who know me, know I Am All About the New Year's Resolution. I know what mine will be, but I just had a fun thought about monthly resolutions. A Resolution BOX. Write a bunch of things you'd like to do on scraps of paper..."buy myself flowers," "invite someone new to do something," "paint toenails a funky color" etc. Make a BUNCH. Put them in a little box or pouch...and on the first of each month, pull one out and spend that month focusing on getting at least that one thing done.

It's so easy when life is swirling around you to forget to do nice things for yourself. This is just a friendly little reminder...

That's a little bit of looking ahead...and for a look back, these are some of my favorite photos from 2011...

 

I'm excited and a little terrified....I just started a 365-day Photo Challenge thingie in flickr...I hope I can see it through!

everything changed....

2011 was quite a year for me. Many changes. A wonderful person (That Guy) returned to my life
after many many years. This required significant adjustment, more emotional than logistical, but it's harder to get your heart and mind in the right place than a sofa.

I set a resolution for myself this year of "trying something new every week." THAT was a blast.
That will be a whole blog post in itself as we near year's end. But that introduced many new things into my life - fun, silly, disastrous :-) Some "new" things have stuck and are now firmly ensconced in my life, and for that, I am thankful I had the courage to try new things.

I made the difficult decision to transition ebay out of my life. I've been selling on ebay for thirteen years. Thir. Teen. Years. With a specialty in vintage clothing for the past six. That's a long time to have your home head life cluttered with STUFF. Stuff to sell, stuff to store the stuff you're trying to sell, stuff to photograph the things you're trying to sell, stuff to pack and ship the things you sell, stuff you're unable to sell, stuff you buy to sell and then can't bear to part with. A lotta stuff. And in the past few years I downsized from a full-size (though cozy) home to a small Brooklyn apartment. I've had to get rid of a lot of my OWN stuff to make room for EBAY stuff. Plus, it's no longer as lucrative for me as it once was...and it's just time to move on. So for the time being I'm still selling. I have a lot of vintage clothing left in inventory (read: plastic tubs in basement), and I have *stuff.* Ebay stuff and stuff of my own that just still doesn't fit in this smaller life I've made for myself. I'll continue sharing some items in my ebay shop here on the blog and my Dragonfly Facebook page.

I have some other income producing ideas I'm working on...I'll fill you in when there's something concrete to tell.

I started this blog when I was an active ebay seller - I had a different motivation when writing it then. Selling. My focus has shifted considerably. I've come back to the blog as a way to share my life, thoughts, problems, solutions. Maybe I'm struggling with something someone else is, too...and my words will resonate with them. Maybe vice-versa in a reader comment! I still actively photograph my life and I'll continue to share that here. These are some of my favorite "autumn" pictures I've taken over the years....

Hope y'all survived Monday :-)